Sunday, November 12, 2006

Public toilet or public inconvenience?

Ah yes, the biggest burning issue in society today. The state of our public toilets.

Specifically I want to poll the world (he said with great humility) about the phenomenon of incorrectly-fitted toilet paper in public toilets.

Where you may live these facilities may be known as: Toilets; restrooms; washrooms; bathrooms; jacksies; jacks; bogs; and so on.

In any event the specific naming is of no consequence.

The problem persists in my view irrespective of what you call this most public of conveniences.

On the wall of the cubicle there are two principal types of toilet paper dispensers.

Type 1 is the the sort where there is a big pile of overlapping sheets in a rectangular shaped dispenser and you just help yourself. The only issue here is that sometimes an over-zealous employee crams too many sheets into the darned thing and you need arms like Geoff Capes to get the paper out.

And then so much comes out that you're worried about blocking the toilet up. This also happens with those napkin dispensers in restaurants.. either you get one torn paper napkin or 8 napkins and you start to have visions of young trees being felled in a forest because of your napkin greed.

Type 2 is the focus of my attention here. The old "roll of paper" variety. Hanging on the wall at arm's reach is the trusty old toilet roll holder. The toilet paper is installed, either on a regular sized roll like you have in your home, or on a huge indistrial sized roll. Now some fleet-footed students may indeed have the jumbo sized roll at home.

Anyway, it seems to me that this type of dispenser is designed to dispense the roll with the paper passing from the top of the roll. There is usually a bit of metal, like a plate shaped per the contour of the toilet roll, to rest against the toilet paper and make tearing off paper easy.

This only works if the roll is in the right way. THIS is the issue.

Lots of people have the paper in upside down. This to me is madness.

I don't have any proof that my way is the right way. I am just certain it's got to be right and right means that the paper falls from the top of the roll.

I have provided a handy diagrammatic representation of the issue to the right. If I come to your home I expect you to have the toilet paper lined up right. Otherwise I'm going to change it around.

I'm saving you here, I really am.

5 comments:

Stephen said...

I hate the improper under-hand fashion of hanging toilet paper.

But I could never crap in public. In fact, the only time I can do it outside my home or a friend's home is if I'm at school, and only then there is only one set of toilets on campus that I'll use, which is among the offices of professors because I'll know it's clean.

Stephen said...

Why can't I comment without logging into Blogger? =(

Shuman said...

et voilĂ  - c'est fini

comment away in unshackled fashion my good friend

Anonymous said...

Thank you for being such a voice of reason. Seriously, this is one of my biggest pet peeves! When I am using the bathroom at someone's house and the TP hangs the wrong way, I right it.

Shuman said...

M. That is so funny. I feel suddenly surrounded by like-minded people with a real preference for the way it hangs.

I'm sure I've changed it round too.. I've even found myself wondering "now where would I get one of those keys to open the huge roll dispensers" so I could do exactly that.. perform my public service and leave quietly.. just like all the other public convenience super heroes like Turn-off-trickling-Tap-woman and Flush-the-Toilet-after-yourself-you-lazy-oaf-man

Keep going folks. Let it hang right.